Ukraine: US flags 'constructive' peace talks in Miami

Ukrainian and US officials are set to hold the third straight day of talks in Florida once again on Saturday. We'll have the latest in a new blog.

A Ukrainian drone struck a high-rise building in the Chechen city of Grozny on Friday, damaging multiple floors of a skyscraper that houses government and business offices.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said on Telegram that nobody had been injured in the attack and described the strike as making "no tactical sense."

He accused Ukraine of attempting to intimidate civilians and vowed that a Russian response "will not be long coming," before later adding Ukrainian forces would "feel a stern response" within the next week.

The drone hit part of the Grozny City complex, a landmark tower opened in 2011 and home to several regional offices, including the Chechen security council.

Local reports said Kadyrov’s residence and an FSB branch are located nearby. Videos showed smoke rising from the building and shattered windows across several floors.

Ukraine has previously targeted sites in Chechnya, including a police barracks and a military training academy, but strikes on central Grozny are rare. The region’s airport was briefly closed earlier on Friday due to security concerns.

EU leaders held talks in Brussels on Friday on a plan to use frozen Russian state assets to support Ukraine, aiming for an agreement by December 18 when they will meet at a summit.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen met with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, whose approval remains key.

Merz sought to reassure Belgium that the risks of unlocking the assets would be shared equally across EU member states.

"Belgium's particular vulnerability regarding the use of frozen Russian assets is undeniable and must be addressed in any conceivable solution in such a way that all European countries bear the same risk," Merz said, according to a German government spokesperson. 

Von der Leyen said "time is of the essence given the current geopolitical situation" and confirmed that the three sides agreed to continue talks in hopes of reaching a consensus.

The European Commission has proposed raising €90 billion ($105 billion) for Ukraine through a loan backed by frozen Russian central bank assets, worth around €210 billion in total. The funds would help cover Ukraine’s financial needs in 2026–27 and repay earlier EU loans.

Belgium, which holds most of the assets through the international deposit organization Euroclear, has raised legal concerns and has not endorsed the plan.

The US State Department signalled "constructive discussions" on a Ukraine peace plan after Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trumo's son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian security chief Rustem Umerov in Miami on Friday.

The talks, which began on Thursday, will continue again on Saturday, the State Department said.

During the meeting both delegations reviewed results of recent American discussions with Russian officials, as they talked through steps that could help bring the war closer to an end

Umerov said that Ukraine remains focused on a settlement that protects its independence and sovereignty and ensures security for Ukrainian citizens.

"Both parties agreed that real progress toward any agreement depends on Russia’s readiness to show serious commitment to long-term peace, including steps toward deescalation and cessation of killings," the State Department said in a statement. 

American and Ukrainian officials also looked at plans for Ukraine’s post-war rebuilding, joint economic initiatives, and long-term recovery projects.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has removed his former chief of staff Andriy Yermak from the National Security Council.

The move came as a sprawling corruption investigation continues to rock Kyiv.

Yermak has also lost his place as a member of the Stavka, which is the high command of Ukraine's armed forces, according to two presidential decrees that were published on Friday. 

Having been a long-standing ally of the president, Yermak stepped down as Zelenskyy's chief of staff last week following anti-corruption authorities conducting searches at his premises.

It is not yet been clarified if those raids are linked to a corruption affair that involves alleged bribes in energy-related procurement.

Yermak had headed the presidential office since February 2020 and was considered by some to be the second most powerful man in Ukraine, with his depature seen as a big blow to Zelenskyy.

Russia has placed one of its few remaining anti-war politicians in pretrial detention.

The decision came shortly before he was due to be released from house arrest.

Lev Shlosberg, a prominent opposition politician from the Yabloko party, was ordered jailed until February on new charges of spreading false information about the army.

Under house arrest since June for allegedly discrediting the military, Shlosberg denies the charges in what is now the third case against him.

Rights groups say Shlosberg is a victim of so-called "carousel" arrests, where multiple charges keep critics in custody.

Yabloko, Russia's only registered party opposing the war in Ukraine, says other top members also face charges.

Fresh talks were scheduled to take place in Miami, Florida, between Ukrainian representatives and US officials.

It comes a day after President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, briefed Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier this week.

"Another meeting is expected today," Oleksandr Bevz, an adviser in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, said without giving further details.

Putin told Witkoff at Tuesday's meeting that some of the points in a US-backed plan to end the war in Ukraine were unacceptable to him. 

Irish police are investigating reports of unidentified drones spotted as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plane landed in Dublin earlier this week.

An Irish Navy vessel spotted several military-style drones near the flight path of Zelenskyy's plane as he arrived in Ireland for a state visit on Monday.

The "special detective Unit (SDU) is investigating this matter. As part of this, SDU will be liaising with the Defence Forces and international security partners," police said 

Europe has faced a surge in drone activity over airports and sensitive sites, with recent incidents in Germany, France, Belgium, and Britain.

Poland reported shooting down three Russian drones in September, a claim Moscow denies.

Russian drones struck a house in central Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, killing a 12-year-old boy, Ukrainian officials said Friday.

Two women were injured in the strike on Thursday night, which destroyed the house, the head of the regional military administration, Vladylsav Haivanenko, said.

Ukraine's air force said Russia had fired 137 drones overnight. In a statement, it said 80 drones had been intercepted, with 57 striking 13 locations across the country.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones struck a port in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar.

Russian officials confirmed the strike, saying it sparked a fire and damaged infrastructure at the port in Temryuk on the Sea of Azov.

Port workers were evacuated, and no injuries were reported, according to the Russian TASS news agency.

Ukraine also launched a drone strike on the city of Syzran, on the Volga River, the local mayor said.

Unconfirmed reports in Ukrainian media said the drones had struck an oil refinery in Syzran, starting a fire.

Russia's defense ministry said 85 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted overnight over Russia and Crimea.

Russia's presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia would continue its war in Ukraine if Kyiv does not agree to a peace deal on Moscow's terms.

Russia is insisting that Ukraine cede large parts of its territory in the eastern Donbas region, much of which is occupied by Russian forces.

Peskov pointed out that Russian troops were gaining ground in eastern Ukraine — a claim Ukraine and its European partners contest. 

"Therefore, if we are unable to resolve the problem and achieve our goals through peaceful means, we will continue the [Special Military Operation] and do everything necessary to protect our interests," the spokesman said.

Peskov's statement comes amid a renewed push for diplomacy between officials from Europe, Ukraine, the US and Russia in recent days.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who was visiting China on Friday, has called for more pressure to be applied on Russia to bring about an end to its war in Ukraine.

Macron, who met with China's President Xi Jinping during his state visit, told reporters that "unity between Americans and Europeans on the Ukrainian issue is essential."

The French leader added that the US, Europe and Ukraine "need to work together."

Macron also said he welcomes and supports US efforts at securing a peace deal, but he pointed out that Washington "needs Europeans to lead these peace efforts."

A report in German weekly Der Spiegel on Thursday said Macron had warned Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conference call with other European leaders that the US could "betray" Kyiv during its talks with Moscow.

The report also said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had voiced skepticism of the US' intentions, warning that US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were "playing games, both with you and with us."

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Friday he believes Washington and Moscow are "making progress" in talks to end the war in Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin met with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump's son-in-law and former advisor Jared Kushner at the Kremlin on Tuesday.

According to Russian state news agency Ria Novosti, Ushakov said Russia is "ready to continue working with this American team."

At the Kremlin meeting on Tuesday, Ushakov said the issues discussed were based on "key understandings that were reached in Anchorage," when Trump hosted Putin in Alaska.

Ushakov also said another summit between the US and Russian presidents "could happen," when he was asked by a Russian television reporter about whether a meeting would take place in the near future.

While the diplomatic push for peace in Ukraine continues apace, fighting on the front in eastern Ukraine is showing no signs of relenting.

Russia claims it has occupied the key strategic city of Pokrovsk as well as Vovchansk in Donetsk region. Kyiv and its Western partners deny the claims, accusing Russia of propaganda.

How is the situation in Pokrovks developing and what are the dangers for the nearby city of Myrnohrad?

Vladimir Putin is in India on Friday, meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Putin is in New Delhi to shore up Russia's relations with the South Asian giant, particularly in trade, security and energy.

Despite Western sanctions and pressure, India has continued to purchase Russian oil and gas, which are crucial for Moscow's war effort.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, Putin has briefed Modi on the situation in Ukraine.

Read more about Putin's visit to India.

Friedrich Merz has said that Berlin is aware of the Belgian government's concerns over leveraging frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine, as proposed by the European Commission on Wednesday.

While Merz said he "takes them seriously," he is expected to try to convince Belgium PM Bart de Wever "that the path we are proposing here is the right one."

So, what are Russia's frozen assets, and why is Belgium resisting the European Commission's plan?

• In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, nearly €300 billion ($347 billion) of its assets outside Russia were frozen as a result of Western sanctions

• These assets include bank accounts, securities, real estate and yachts

• The biggest chunk of the assets lies in EU member countries, and the largest of all in Belgium

• Euroclear, a Brussels-based financial depository, holds roughly €180 billion in frozen Russian assets

• Belgium is concerned about the legality of using the assets to fund Ukraine

• Brussels has so far refused to approve the plan amid fears of legal consequences and retaliation from Russia

• Belgium's Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot has said it is "not acceptable to use the money and leave us alone to face the risks"